I love this first chapter of Jeremiah. It is the record of Jeremiah's call to be a "prophet to the nations of the world." It is God assuring Jeremiah that He can take one who is not a public speaker and give him the words to say. The Lord encourages Jeremiah to not be afraid, that He, the Lord, will deliver him and give him what to speak.

In fact, God set Jeremiah as a prophet among the nations, and a prophet to the nations. The truth is that God did this for Jeremiah before he was born. But wait, verse 5 says God set Jeremiah aside, not only before he was born but, before he was even formed in his mother's womb. In fact, Jeremiah was "chosen" in the mind of God in "eternity past," verse 5.

Jeremiah 1:5 not only gives us background in the forming of the prophet but also is the evidence of when "life" begins, the big question today as it relates to abortion. Life does not begin at birth or even at conception. Life begins in the "mind of God" in eternity past. Now that settles the question.

In a later devotional we will look at other prophetic texts in this awesome book. We will learn of judgments pronounced against the Jewish people and the enemies of the Jewish people. We will find out what will happen to the Jewish people in the last days, just prior to the Lord's return.

If you would like to read ahead, read Jeremiah 31 and 50-51 where you will read about the nation of Israel in the last days and the fate of the country of Iraq. I will have more on those prophetic passages at a later time (see my audio study on Jeremiah).

By the way, Daniel read Jeremiah and was able to determine where he was in God's time by the word of God, Daniel 9:2. You can read the word of God to know the times we're living in today.

A study of God’s prophetic word will help us to know how close we are to the "shout" from Jesus to join Him "in the air" at the Rapture. Let me encourage you to keep looking up, the Rapture could be today.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Dear Lord, help me to study Your Word and teach me to recognize, in these last days, how close we are to the Rapture. Help me to live in light of that knowledge.